2Cor4:2 but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifesting the truth we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.kjv
PRESSURE TO POPULATE
Rev Falodun told a story in a conference meeting I attended. He said there was a man whose church was not growing numerically. He was under a strange pressure to get the numbers troop in. He approached a supposed father in the Lord whose church was big and narrated his disappointments in ministry to him. The man promised to take him to the river side for solution. He went with him. On getting there, the man told him not to panic because a lady will appear to him and they must have sex. Truly, the lady appeared and they had sex together. Afterwards, the church grew in numbers and things began to happen. He was disturbed because he knew the truth. The Holy Spirit kept on disturbing him until he renounced his affiliations with that occultic network. He was under pressure to populate his church and he missed it. Is the same not happening to you Mr Preacher?
People use gimmicks to gather crowd. Some will put the picture of a popular figure they didn't invite on their church programme poster so that crowds can come but at the end, they'll apologize that the invited guest couldn't come for undisclosed reasons. We bring comedians to entertain people in church thinking that their presence would pull the crowd. Little wonder the stage in some churches is not different from theatre stage. A stage that should host men burning with the fire of the Holy Ghost has become a stage hosting men that lack genuine salvation experience.
If the Holy Spirit presence and power is not strong enough in you to attract and retain people, you better ask for it. The pressure to populate is real. When we started the idea of calling some churches 'mega' and some 'small', we ran into deep trouble. In a bid to be classified as Mega church, many have entered into mega error. The new testament church in the Bible wouldn't pass the test of being mega as we call it but it was a church that shook her world. They met in houses and fixed venues not in Cathedrals yet the Bible said they reached their known world in the space of two years counting from the day of Pentecost. Don't feel like a failure because the crowd aren't following you, failure in ministry occurs when you deviate from your true calling, the message of the Bible and living a life that is not Christ-like.
father, I receive grace not to come under demonic pressure In Jesus name.